Felony arson charges filed against a Warren man have been withdrawn, bringing an end to a nearly three-year-old case.

According to a criminal complaint filed July 31, 2023, by Warren police officers, on or about Jan.1, 2023, Kobe Allen Hicks, 27, of 103 Wayne St., Apt. 3, Warren, allegedly entered the Clark Street parking garage in Warren and set fire to a 1987 Buick Grand National, totaling the vehicle and causing damage to a light fixture at the garage. Hicks then allegedly jumped off the second level of the parking garage, breaking both heels, according to the complaint. He was transported to Warren General Hospital by ambulance and found to be under the influence of alcohol, according to the complaint.

Total damages are listed as $33,116.59.

Hicks was charged with a first-degree felony charge of arson – danger of death or bodily injury.; third-degree felony charges of risking catastrophe and criminal mischief; a third-degree felony charge or reckless burning or exploding places, property having value that exceeds $5,000 or automobile, place, and a summary charge of public drunkenness.

The charges proceeded to court in October 2023, setting in motion more than two years of defense requests for continuances, a schedule for a July 2024 trial that was later postponed, and a January 2025 motion to suppress evidence in the case. That hearing was scheduled for March 21, 2025, and then postponed twice until May 29, 2025. On March 30, defense attorneys filed a motion in limine to exclude any evidence, testimony or argument regarding an alleged positive hit, a pretrial request to exclude prejudicial or inadmissible evidence that would include a possible drug test, canine alert or database match. Defense attorneys also filed a motion in limine to preclude video evidence & testimony referencing prior bad acts, a motion that seeks to limit videos or testimony referencing prior bad acts using the argument such evidence is unfairly prejudicial, confusing, or irrelevant. A third motion by the Hicks’ attorney sought to exclude any mention of forensic testing of a green shirt involved in the case.

Finally, on March 31, the defense filed a motion seeking to exclude MAGLOCLEN enhanced video evidence as deceptive, unrepresentative and prejudicial. MAGLOCLEN refers to the Middle Atlantic-Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network, a federally funded, regional law enforcement support organization. It helps local, state, and federal agencies combat organized crime, narcotics trafficking, and terrorism through intelligence sharing, analytical support, surveillance equipment loans, and training. Among its services is digital forensics and investigative research.

Such motions typically argue that forensic video analysis uses an enhancement that isn’t a true representation of the original, but rather a “creation” that is deceptive, unrepresentative, and unfairly prejudicial under Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence. In Pennsylvania criminal courts, such motions focus on proving that the enhancement process adds, alters, or destroys details, creating a false image.

Argument was to take place April 9 in front of Judge Gregory Hammond in the Court of Common Pleas, but a motion to withdraw the charges was filed April 7 by the Warren County District Attorney’s office, with Hammond approving the motion on April 9.